Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Philippines convicts 16 human traffickers, Binay tells US expert




The Philippines has been successful in its anti-human trafficking efforts that has resulted in the conviction of 16 people in nine separate cases since January.


This was what Vice President Jejomar Binay, chairman emeritus of the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) and presidential adviser on overseas Filipino workers (OFW) concerns, told Ambassador Luis CdeBaca head of the US State Department Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons who visited him at the Coconut Palace at 10 a.m. today.


“This brings to 44 the number of human trafficking convictions under President [Benigno] Noynoy Aquino’s administration, with 58 persons convicted. We are focusing on following through with the cases until a sentence is passed. It’s not enough that we file cases against these human trafficking syndicates, we have to make sure that those involved are put behind bars,” he said.


CdeBaca, who leads the United States' global engagement against human trafficking, paid Binay a courtesy call.


Human trafficking is an umbrella term used for holding a person in compelled service, forced labor, sex trafficking, bonded labor, debt bondage, involuntary domestic servitude, forced child labor, child soldiers, and child sex trafficking.


Under the United States' Trafficking Victims Protection Act, CdeBaca’s office is the lead agency in bilateral and multilateral diplomacy, targeted foreign assistance, and public engagement on this issue of modern slavery. His office also partners with foreign governments and civil society to develop and implement effective counter-trafficking strategies.


Binay was scheduled to leave for Tokyo from the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) terminal 2 at 2 p.m. He was invited to keynote the Secure Asia @Tokyo conference. He will leave via Philippine Airlines flight PR432. -Black Pearl (July 16, 2012 2:00PM)

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